Power transmission unit for concrete mixers



June'24, 1930. c. F. BALL 1,766,583

POWER TRANSMISSION UNIT FOR CONCRETE MIXERS Filed March 21, 1927 2Sheets-Sheet 1 June 24,1930. c. F. BALL 1,766,583

POWER TRANSMISSION UNIT FOR CONCRETE MIXERS Filed March 21, 1927 2Sheets-Sheet 2 amnion m CHARLES F. BALL, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN,ASSIGNOR T CHAIN BELT COMPANY,

Patented June 24, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I OF MILWAUKEE,WISCONSIN, A. CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN POWER TRANSMISSION UNIT FORCONCRETE MIXERS Application filed March 21, 1827. Serial No. 177,116.

This invention relates to power trans mission units for concrete mixersand has for one of its objects to provide a device of the characterdescribed which will be simple in construction, comparativelyinexpensive to manufacture and install and more efiicient in use thanthose which have been heretofore proposed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a small and compactunitary transmission more especially adapted for use with concretemixers provided with a power operated charging skip, which unit includes a protective casing for the gears, a sprocket or other drivewheel for transmitting power to the mixing drum, and a clutch controlledhoisting drum for operating the said charging skip.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a transmission forconcrete mixers which because of its unitary construction may be readilyremoved as a unit from the mixer for the purpose of repair orreplacement in the event of breakage of any of the arts.

lVith the above and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists in the novel de tails ofconstruction and combinations of parts more fully hereinafter describedand particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspecification in which like reference characters designate like parts inall the views:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of one well known formof concrete mixer showing a transmission unit constructed in accordancewith tlie present invention in place thereon;

Fig. 2 is a central horizontal sectional View on an enlarged scalethrough the trans mission unit detached from the mixer; and,

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional elevational view taken approximately onthe plane indicated by the line III-J11 of Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to the said drawings, the numeral indicatesgenerally, a concrete mixer of a well known form comprising a chassis 11upon which is mounted an upright frame 12 and a mixing drum 13 which isadapted to be supplied with materials for producing concrete by means ofa vertically swingingcharging skip 14. The said skip it is raised andlowered by means of cables 15 attached thereto, which cables runupwardly and pass around suitable drums 16 carried by a winding shaft 17which shaft is also provided with a large driving wheel 18 about whichis wound an actuating cable 19. The parts thus far described are all ofwell known construction and arrangement and the mixing drum 13 as wellas the charging skip ll are normally actuated through power supplied bya gasoline or other motor enclosed within a housing 20.

The transmission unit constituting the present invention is designed totransmit the power from the motor within the housing 20 to the cable 19which actuates the skip 14; and also to the mixing drum 13. As, will beclear from the drawings, this said unit comprises a casing or housing21, which is preferably formed of two complementary sections 22 and 23which are secured together by suitable bolts 24:.v The said casing 21 issopositioned as to receive one end of'the power shaft 25 of the motorwhich shaft is provided with a spur pinion 26 mounted within the casing21, (see Fig. 2) and meshing with an intermediate or idler gear 27carried by a jack shaft 28 which is preferably mounted in ball or otheranti-friction bearings-29 housed in the casing sections 22 and 23, aswill be readily understood. The end of the power shaft 25 is covered bya cap 39 removably secured to the section 22 of the gear housing.

The jack shaft 28 carries apinion'30 which meshes with a gear 31rigidlymounted upon a counter shaft 32 which counter shaft is journalledin the projecting bearing sleeves 33 and 34 which are detachably carriedby the casing sections 22 and 23 respectively, as will be clear fromFig. 2. The said counter shaft 32 carries at one end and adjacent thebearing sleeve 33, a sprocket 35 which serves vas the driving means forthe sprocket chain that passes around and engages the sprocket ringcarried by the mixing drum 13. The sprocket wheel 35 is put into drivingconnection with the countershaft 32 through a clutch, represented inFig. 2,. that is operated through clutchwshifting' mechanism. 42, thisshifting mechanism in turn being under manual control through a lever41. This manner of driving the drum is well known and is not hereinclaimedi A winding drum 36 is journalled upon the stationarybearingsleeve 34:- and is pro vided with a suitable clutch 37 which maybe controlled by a clutch lever 38 in the usual manner to connect anddisconnect the drum 36 from the counter shaft 32. The said drum 36receives the lower end of the cable 19 which is secured thereto so. thatrotation of the drum 36 will produce corresponding rotation of the shaft17 through the cable 19 and wheel 18 and thereby raise the charging skip1-1.

It will be noted that the drum 36 is journalled upon the outer surfaceof the stationary bearing sleeve 34 which eliminates undue wear in thisjournal since there is no relative movement of the parts except when theskip is being raised or lowered; whereas when the drum is looselyjournalled upon the continuously revolving countershaft IShIIS beenheretofore the case, there is constant wear between these parts. It willalso be readily apparent that in the case of breakage or the derangementof any of the rtsof the transmission, that it may be and quickly removedas a unit for repair or replacement by merely disconnecting the cable 19and the drum driving chain 35 and removing the bolts which secune theunit in place upon the engine housing.

It Wlll also be noted that through the use of this transmission, thelocation of the counter shaft 32 may be lowered thereby bringing thecontrols within easy reach of the operator as he stands upon the ground.

While one form of the invention has been thus illustrated and described,it is obvious that. those skilled in the art may vary the details ofconstruction as well as the pree'so arrangements of parts withoutdepartin; from. the. spirit of the invention and therefore, it is notwished to be limited to the above disclosure except as may be. reqpinedthe claim.

What is claimed is:

i A power transmission unit for concrete mixers comprising a casing;readily detachable beaming sleeves carried by said casing;aicountershaft journalled in said sleeves; a gear: train housed in saidcasing, adapted to transmit. power from a source to said oountershait; asprocket carried by said eonntershatt adjmnt one of said sleeves for

